As long as I can wrap my arms round you
by ValoraSelene
Summary: Arthur loves Merlin, and would do anything, change anything to get him to reciprocate his feelings, including his eating habits. If only it will make Merlin love him... Merthur, fluff and slash. Rated T (to be on the safe side)


Hi everyone, I really hope that you enjoy reading this fanfic. I'm kinda new to writing them so any comments would be really helpful ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin (though I can dream...)

A loud metallic banging woke Arthur from his sleep. He jerked into a sitting position, grabbing for his sword when he saw Merlin standing over his desk, hammer in hand. "Mer-lin!" He exclaimed, "what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm sorry sire, I was just...I...I...dropped this hammer" he replied, waving the instrument in the air.

"You dropped a hammer," repeated Arthur sceptical, walking over to where Merlin stood. "What's that behind your back?" He asked, indicating to the object Merlin held behind him. "Hang on, is that my belt? Merlin, what are you doing?"

"I was just..." Merlin gave up on the charade, he'd never been a good liar. "I was adding another hole to your belt sire. There have been a lot of feasts recently and-"

"Are you calling me fat again Merlin? You do realise that I can have you executed?" Arthur joked, once again trying to mask his pain with sarcasm.

"No sire," answered Merlin, oblivious to his friend's hurt "speaking of feasts, the kitchen is fully prepared for the celebration of King Lethodus' visit tonight" Arthur groaned, he had forgotten about that. Although, their two kingdoms were at peace, he had never liked the tall, lean king that women fought over.

Arthur yawned and got ready for the day. He wished he could go back to sleep, he had been having such a good dream...

Arthur and Merlin and been walking in the forest, when Merlin's arm had snaked around his waist, capturing him in a surprisingly forceful embrace. Arthur pulled Merlin in even closer, feeling every contour, every angle of Merlin pressed against his body, their heads leant towards each other, their lips almost touching...

Then Merlin had woken him from his paradise. If only he had slept for a few more seconds... Arthur sighed. Even if Merlin was that way inclined, he would never like him.

"King Lethodus," greeted Arthur, walking to meet the dark haired man sat astride his horse. "King Arthur," Lethodus nodded.

"You must be tired after your long journey. My own manservant shall wait on you for the duration of your stay" said Arthur, gesturing to Merlin.

King Lethodus' eyes swept over Merlin appraisingly, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile. "I very much appreciate it," he replied, eyes still on Merlin.

Arthur wasn't used to getting ready on his own. "Damn" he muttered. He had been searching for ten minutes and still hadn't found that stupid belt Merlin had been adding to this morning.

It was no good, Merlin must have hidden it somewhere, Arthur resolved, setting of in pursuit of his manservant.

Arthur stopped just outside of the guest chambers, where King Lethodus was sleeping. He started to knock, when he heard the other king mention his name: "Arthur's lucky to have you as a servant Merlin. But he doesn't deserve you" he laughed "that fat ugly idiot doesn't deserve anyone" In a daze, Arthur watched through a crack in the door as he pinned Merlin against the wall, entwined his hand through his hair and-

Arthur ran, choking back tears. No, it shouldn't be Lethodus holding Merlin like that, it should be him. "No" Arthur reconsidered "Lethodus was right. Merlin's perfect...he doesn't deserve someone who looks like me. If only I could be the man Merlin wants"

It was five days after the feast and Merlin was starting to worry. Arthur looked pale, drawn. His normally playful insults were replaced with pained looks. His sapphire eyes had faded to dark, flat navy. And Merlin knew why, he just didn't know how to stop it.

Feeble excuses of "I have no appetite" and "I'll eat later" had fooled Merlin at first, but now, as he dressed Arthur for training, noticing bones that hadn't been there before, he knew differently. "Arthur..." He began,

"Not now Merlin, I'm late for training" Arthur snapped, walking out of the room and towards the palace training grounds.

Arthur was tired. His armour felt heavier than it had before and even the younger knights had managed to defeat him when sparring. He knew he was fading, he knew he couldn't keep going on like this, but every so often Lethoden's voice kept popping into his head, pulling him further and further from recovery.

Arthur stood, apparently watching a pair of younger knights joust, but secretly watching Merlin who had followed him the training ground when his vision started to darken. He felt dizzy. Recently, he had always felt slightly light-headed but this was different. Sir Leon was talking to him, but he couldn't hear the words. Then everything went black and Arthur fell down, down, down into the darkness.

Merlin was at Arthur's side before he had even crumpled to the ground. "We need to get him to Gaius" he shouted, panic in his voice. Two knights rushed to Arthur and carried him to the physician, Merlin right behind him.

"He'll be fine Merlin," Gaius soothed, squeezing Merlin's shoulder. It was obvious that to Gaius that he loved Arthur, Merlin's eyes hadn't left the king's face and he was close to tears. "Merlin?" Arthur groaned, his eyes instantly seeking out those of his servant's. "I'll leave you two to talk" muttered Gaius, leaving the two alone.

Merlin broke the cloying silence by asking"You know why this happened, don't you?"

"Yes" Arthur breathed.

Merlin pointed to a bowl of broth on the table next to Arthur "Eat, Arthur. Please" Merlin whispered, his voice breaking. Arthur just shook his head. "Why?" Asked Merlin.

"I just want to...deserve you Merlin" answered Arthur, his voice weak.

"You were there," Merlin groaned, horrified. "Arthur, listen to me. Lethodus was wrong. You're beautiful, you're funny, you're clever. To me, you will forever be the most perfect man in Albion" Merlin smiled "why else would I love you?"

Arthur hardly dared to believe it. "You...love me?" He managed to stutter. "You don't care that I'm a 'fat ugly idio-"

"I don't care what you look like" interrupted Merlin. "As long as I can wrap my arms around you". And with that Merlin pulled Arthur towards him, their hearts both pounding hard in their chests. Merlin's lips trailed up Arthur's neck to brush against his lips. Their mouths met, and Arthur's dream was finally complete.


End file.
